A couple of pretty general questions, that I couldn't find the answers to in the search menu

So uh, got a couple of questions, if you don't mind. Not sure if it's the ride forum, but, you know.

1) If I find a character mode somewhere and get it into the game - it only changes the body a bit. So in order to get the legit experience of some new character, I first have to download: the hair, the body, the colors, the positions, the clothes and only THEN put the code in, since otherwise the game will not understand what to load?
It's a very confusing system

2) Is it possible for the game to load all the mods I want at start up, so I wouldn't have to manually enable 20 different mods every single time I turn the game on? It's extremely time consuming.

3) Is there some... I don't know how to describe it... DEFINITIVE or just BIG package of general enhancements to the vanilla game? You know, nothing super specific, just generally more hair, more clothes, more stuff, all condensed into one single .sdt file?

4) Could anyone walk me through the best animation mods out there and maybe link/explain how to install them? I really want to check out some actual sex mods, but I imagine that it's pretty difficult to find one that WORKS well, isn't a pain in the ass to install and doesn't look like inter-dimentional cancer.

1 + 2) Yes, you can actually set the game to set characters and load mods at start.
How to load mods at start: Take the mod .swf and throw it in your $INIT$ folder, then find the Mods.txt in that init folder and just type in the name of the mod.

For instance, here's what mine looks like because I wanted autoclosemouth to load at start. You can see it at the bottom.

How to set characters: Create a new folder in your mods folder and name it what you want your character to be. Throw in all the .swfs, .pngs, whatever you want to use with your character, then create a new .txt file called code. Paste the character code there. Then create another .txt file called Mods. In this one, simply type the filenames of the stuff you want your character to load. Here's what a Mod.txt for a prostitute character I made looks like:

Once you've done this, go back to your loader folder and run the Mods Folder.jar, this will update the mods folder and let the game know to load the folder you just created at start. Then you should be good to go.

1) If I find a character mode somewhere and get it into the game - it only changes the body a bit. So in order to get the legit experience of some new character, I first have to download: the hair, the body, the colors, the positions, the clothes and only THEN put the code in, since otherwise the game will not understand what to load?

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Yes, that's generally correct.

The character code is merely a "time-saving" tool. It adjusts the various color-selectors and sliders, in a way which you could do yourself via the in-game GUI.

A PNG or SWF file adds something new to the game.

It's possible for a modder to provide a single SWF file which includes a custom hairstyle, a complete costume, a character code, a background, and a custom dialogue. You'd need to load only a single file to get the complete experience. However, this rarely happens for two reasons:

creation of SWF files requires special tools. Many of our people don't bother with Flash modding (example: @Mineur is the most prolific content-creator on the website, and he focuses entirely on PNG hairstyles)

SDT emphasizes mix-and-match customization. If a modder packages everything into a single file, then it can be inconvenient for users who would prefer to use only one aspect of it (such as a pair of boots). Therefore modders tend to release separate files rather than all-in-one packages.

2) Is it possible for the game to load all the mods I want at start up, so I wouldn't have to manually enable 20 different mods every single time I turn the game on?

Click to expand...

Yes. If you're referring to code mods (such as sby's stuff - adding new features to the game) then the key file is Mods\$INIT$\Mods.txt. You can add new entries to that file, and the specified mods will be loaded automatically during startup.

If you're referring to specific elements (such as hairstyles and clothing) then there are two options:

you can setup a Character Folder for each of your custom characters. Instead of hand-loading a dozen mods each time, you simply specify the dozen files within the appropriate Character Folder. Those mods will automatically be activated whenever you load the girl via the SDT in-game menu.

you can use sby's moreClothing mod to include the custom hairstyles and clothing within the standard menus. Instead of hand-loading various SWF files, you'll be able to activate them during gameplay via the usual ◄► selector buttons on the various categories (such as Hair, Eyewear, Footwear, etc).

3) Is there some... I don't know how to describe it... DEFINITIVE or just BIG package of general enhancements to the vanilla game? You know, nothing super specific, just generally more hair, more clothes, more stuff, all condensed into one single .sdt file?

Click to expand...

sby's Loader Pack is recommended in the Getting Started with SDT guide. If you want to be very thorough (and you're willing to endure a long startup time) then you can try out the 666 Girls package.

4) Could anyone walk me through the best animation mods out there and maybe link/explain how to install them? I really want to check out some actual sex mods, but I imagine that it's pretty difficult to find one that WORKS well, isn't a pain in the ass to install and doesn't look like inter-dimentional cancer.

Click to expand...

The Animtools mod (by @sby) is included in both of the aforementioned packages. It's the only animation mod for SDT which is fully-featured and actively maintained.

Contortion and clipping may occur with animtools positions. It depends on the skill of the modder and the weirdness of the position they're attempting to create. It also depends on some gameplay factors -- a position may work well with a normal penis, but get badly mangled by an oversized penis. The default positions should be fairly reliable.

You can also try browsing through some of the recent posts in the animtools positions thread to see whether any of the user-submitted stuff catches your eye. Don't start from page 1; those files are outdated and won't work properly with the latest animtools version.